Unsolved Mysteries "Gabby's Bones" given proper military funeral in Wyoming

Murdered WWII vet's body found in Wyoming, given military funeral

KGWN News
April 3, 2019

The story also got national attention on the former NBC-TV true crime series "Unsolved Mysteries" during a February 1993 episode, featuring "Gabby's Bones."

Wyoming Army National Guard Military Funeral Honors team members conduct a flag ceremony for Technician 5 Joseph Mulvaney, who received long-overdue honors March 29, 2019 at a memorial service in Cody, Wyoming.

Mulvaney, an Illinois Army National Guard member when he deployed to the Pacific Theater for World War II, was murdered in Iowa in 1963. His remains were discovered in Thermopolis, Wyoming in 1992. It was not until 2017 that he was identified, through DNA testing, as the grandfather of Waukee, Iowa resident Shelley Statler. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jimmy McGuire)

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (WYANG) - The Wyoming Army National Guard Military Funeral Honors team conducted full military rites, which included a 21-gun salute, during a long-overdue memorial service in Cody, Wyoming, for Joseph Junior Mulvaney.

Mulvaney was an Illinois Army National Guard Technician 5 when he deployed to the Pacific Theater during World War II. His story has been an interesting one, and some key players in discovering it were in attendance at the March 29 service including a granddaughter and her family, homicide investigators and a DNA analyst.

The rest of the story, gleaned from various sources, follows.

In 1987 a man named John David Morris, also known as Gabby, left an old military padlocked footlocker in a shed at Newell Sessions' Thermopolis, Wyoming property. Morris said he would return for it when he settled down.

About five years later and still no sign of Morris, curiosity got to Sessions. He cut through the padlock with a torch and opened the trunk. In it, he found a human skeleton, wrapped in a piece of plastic, a belt and a rotting grocery bag.
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Disabled veteran Darrell Stack scratches way to awesomeness

Disabled Casper veteran makes artwork on scratchboards
Casper Star-Tribune
BY ELYSIA CONNER
August 22, 2018

"When you have chronic pain it never goes away. Anything to take your mind away from it is probably the best medicine there is really." Darrell Stack

In this July 28, 2018 photo, Darrell Stack watches as his scratchboard gallery is installed at Art 321 in Casper, Wyo. Stack is a disabled veteran and his art is a lifelong passion. Scratchboard involves scratching into a black ink coating on a white background to create lighter marks on the surface. The Casper Star-Tribune via AP Josh Galemore

CASPER, WYO.
The walls of the Casper gallery began to fill with images of people, animals and other scenes. Each piece was depicted in black and white, with intricate details that stopped some people in their tracks.

"Aren't these awesome?" gallery manager Susie Grant said. "These are scratchboard."

The work belonged to Darrell Stack, a 59-year-old artist and disabled veteran. He helped arrange and hang his first gallery show late last month at Art 321 in downtown Casper. His show will be displayed through August.
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Truck driver Iraq veteran saved State Trooper

Iraq War vet, now a trucker, puts suspect in chokehold to save trooper from being shot
USA Today
Joel Shannon
June 2, 2018

“I did two tours in Iraq, and I never had to put a choke hold on anyone. That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever done."

The Wyoming Highway Patrol is praising an Iraq War veteran for his role in apprehending a suspect and helping a trooper who was in danger of being shot.

Trucker Darren Phillips of Taylorsville, Utah, pulled over after seeing an altercation between a trooper and a suspect Thursday near Green River, Wyoming, about 140 miles northeast of Salt Lake City.

“I put my brakes on, and I jump out. And by this time, the trooper is on his back and the guy is on top of him," Phillips told KSL-TV, Salt Lake City. "The trooper saw me running over and as soon as I got up to him, he says, ‘He’s going for my gun.' "

Phillips put the suspect in a chokehold. A Facebook post from the TV station quotes Phillips: It was the "craziest thing" he's ever done despite serving two tours in Iraq.

Phillips said his training in the Marines and Army National Guard helped him subdue the man and pull him off the trooper.
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Vietnam veteran committed suicide in Police parkinglot

Veteran who took own life identified 
Sheridan Press 
March 12, 2018 

"While officers tried talking to Underhill, he took his life with a gunshot to the head..."

SHERIDAN — A local veteran died by suicide Saturday morning in the Sheridan Police Department parking lot after officers attempted talking to him.

According to SPD officials, Mark Underhill, 66, was believed to be a patient of the Sheridan Veterans Affairs Medical Center. 

Underhill called 911 and spoke with dispatchers. 

Underhill made his plans known and told dispatchers he was in the parking lot in front of the police station. 
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Homeless Veteran "They wouldn't help me."

Turned away at Bedford VA hospital, a life lost
Veteran's suicide adds to questions about response, policies
Lowell Sun
By Todd Feathers
UPDATED: 12/30/2017

He sought care at VA hospitals in Arizona, Wyoming, and South Dakota. About three years ago, Earles decided to move to Massachusetts.

BEDFORD -- Byron Wade Earles sat hunched over, his head resting in his hands, by Building 78 of the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital.
The nurse who rushed out to help found him bleeding and despondent.

"They wouldn't admit me," he told her, according to an account of the incident in Earles' medical records. "They wouldn't help me."

As the nurse spoke with him, Earles took out a knife and began to cut his throat.

Byron Earles, a homeless Army veteran,
tried to commit suicide on Nov. 7, 2016
after the Bedford VA hospital s mental
health clinic denied him admission.
He died by suicide two months later.
(PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL EARLES)

The 44-year-old Army veteran had arrived at the Bedford VA mental health walk-in clinic on Nov. 7, 2016 -- days after being discharged from the Brockton VA -- asking to be admitted to the hospital because he was thinking about hurting himself and others.

The Bedford clinic turned him away, according to a portion of Earles' medical records obtained by The Sun, because a mental health worker did not believe his account of a recent suicide attempt and suspected he wanted to escape the cold.

Maureen Heard, a spokeswoman for the hospital, said Earles left of his own accord after a psychiatrist suggested he seek a homeless shelter. Hospital administrators declined an interview request, but Heard said several clinic policies changed as a result of the Earles incident.

While Earles didn't die that day -- two VA police officers convinced him to drop the knife so the nurse could treat his wound -- he did die by suicide two months later, on Jan. 6, after walking out of a counseling session at the Bedford hospital.
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Vietnam Veteran, Stephen Carl Reiman Family Member Found

Coroner finds sister of Vietnam veteran who will be buried Tuesday near Casper
Casper Star Tribune
Elise Schmelzer
Updated 3 hrs ago

After more than a week of searching, the Natrona County coroner has found a sister of the Vietnam veteran set to be be buried Tuesday morning near Casper. The sister plans to attend the funeral at the state veterans cemetery and will accept her brother’s flag.

Coroner Connie Jacobson said she spoke with the sister Sunday night and that the sister will fly into Casper from southern California on Monday evening.

Last week, Jacobson asked for help finding family members of Stephen Carl Reiman, a homeless Navy veteran who served during the Vietnam War. Reiman died Nov. 17 in Casper, shortly after moving to Wyoming from California for unknown reasons.

The sister, Diane Reiman, hadn’t heard from her brother for at least two years, Jacobson said. The sister began to cry on the phone during their brief conversation, Jacobson said.

“She’s relieved and grateful that he’s going to have a decent burial with honor,” Jacobson said. “I’m just glad it’s all coming together. And maybe she’ll get some answers.”
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Warren Air Force Base:14 Removed From Duty Suspected of Drug Activity

Air Force personnel at US nuclear missile base suspected of drug activity
Stars and Stripes
By Corey Dickstein
Published: March 18, 2016
33 minutes ago

A static display of intercontinental ballistic missiles at the F.E. Warren

Air Force Base, Wyo., front gate the evening of April 4, 2012.

R.J. ORIEZ/U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO

WASHINGTON – Fourteen United States airmen have been removed from duty at a Wyoming nuclear missile facility under suspicion they were involved in illegal drug activity, an Air Force general said Friday.

An investigation was launched Tuesday at F.E. Warren Air Force Base into the alleged activity of the airmen, all security force personnel ranging in rank from airman to senior airman, after it was reported by another member of their unit, said Air Force Gen. Robin Rand, the commander of Air Force Global Strike Command.

Rand called the allegations “credible,” but he declined to detail what the activity might have involved.

“We will wait for the investigation to be complete before I will comment on the specifics,” he said.
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Wyoming Sheriff Says No Charges After Combat Service Dog Killed

No charges will be filed in fatal shooting of service dog
Associated Press
Updated 4 hrs ago

POWELL, Wyo. — The Park County Sheriff's Office says no charges will be filed in connection to the fatal shooting of a Powell veteran's service dog.

Matthew Bessler served with his Belgian Malinois, named Mike, in Iraq in the U.S. Army before bringing the dog home to Powell to help him with his post-traumatic stress disorder. Mike was shot and killed on Oct. 10.

Sheriff Scott Steward on Thursday said he didn't doubt Mike was a caring companion to Bessler, but he also didn't doubt that the 10-year-old dog attacked and injured a 70-year-old man in April. The shooter says Mike attacked him.
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Wyoming National Guardsmen "Charlie Med" Deploy to Afghansitan

Wyoming troops off to Afghanistan
Wyoming Tribune Eagle News
Trevor Brown
October 16, 2015

During a ceremony marking its deployment Friday, Wyoming Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Luke Reiner told the group that this is a critical and potentially life-saving mission.

Chief Warrant Officer II Bryan Herget spends some time with his children, Aiden, 8, left, and Olivia, 6, during a deployment ceremony on Friday at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne. Eighteen members of the Wyoming Army National Guard's 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment will leave Saturday morning for a month-long training mission in Texas before deploying to Afghanistan for 9 months.
Blaine McCartney/Wyoming Tribune Eagle

CHEYENNE - The Wyoming Army National Guard's most deployed unit since 2001 is about to head overseas again. 

Eighteen soldiers with the Guard's "Charlie Med" company are gearing up for a nine-month deployment in Afghanistan.

The group is expected to leave today for a month-long training mission in Texas before heading off to the Middle East.

The Guard's C Company, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, as they are known formally, is based in Cheyenne. It operates UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and will provide medical evacuation support for U.S. and coalition troops.

During a ceremony marking its deployment Friday, Wyoming Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Luke Reiner told the group that this is a critical and potentially life-saving mission.

"You provide that safety net that our service members of all branches and our allies rely on," he said. "You provide the speed for the first golden hour, the hour that is key to determining whether a wounded man or woman lives or dies."
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Iraq Veteran Needs Help to Bury Service Dog With Honors

UPDATE
No charges will be filed in fatal shooting of service dog

Retired military K9 shot, killed in Powell
Retired military dog serving as service animal shot, killed in Powell incident
KOTA News
Oct 15, 2015

Photos show Matthew Bessler and the Belgian Malinois named Mike serving in Iraq.

(photos courtesy Matthew Bessler)

POWELL, Wyo. (AP) — An Army veteran is asking for a burial with military honors for his service dog that was shot and killed outside Powell.

The Powell Tribune reports that Matthew Bessler's 10-year-old Belgian Malinois named Mike was shot and killed Saturday by a bicyclist who says the dog attacked him.

Mike served with Bessler in Iraq in the U.S. Army, with Nike acting as a combat dog and in bomb detection. When the pair returned from their deployment, Bessler adopted Mike. The dog helped Bessler transition from combat to normal life as he suffered post-traumatic stress disorder.
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Iraq Veterans Sue KBR For Burn Pit Toxic Exposures

Five Casper veterans sue company over toxic burn pits in Iraq
Casper Star Tribune
Lillian Schrock
October 9, 2015

Five Casper military veterans filed a federal lawsuit Friday alleging they were exposed to toxic fumes when a Houston-based corporation improperly burned waste during the war in Iraq.

Ochs Law Firm filed the suit against KBR Inc. in the U.S. District Court of Wyoming. The suit is believed to be the first toxic burn pit case filed in Wyoming, according to the Casper-based law office.

The suit states KBR was hired to handle waste disposal for American operations in Iraq.

KBR failed to take necessary safety precautions and incinerated unsorted waste, including chemicals, in burn pits, exposing the soldiers to health-damaging toxins, the suit claims.
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ALSO

Vets Can Finally Sue Contractors for Cancer Caused by War
After the Supreme Court found that KBR could be sued over the burn pits it operated on bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2008, I received a memo from an Air Force bioenvironmental flight commander, Lt. Col. Darrin Curtis, saying that the troops at Air Base Balad were being exposed to “an acute health hazard.”

At that point, no one had reported on the burn pits, which were used by the military and its contractors to dispose of trash at almost every base in Iraq and Afghanistan.

New Mexico

Ailing vets sue, say toxic burn pits cost them their health

KBR, Halliburton Found Not Immune in Burn-Pit Suits
March 6 (Bloomberg) -- KBR Inc. and Halliburton Co. aren’t automatically immune from lawsuits by military service members over illnesses caused by exposure to contractor burn pits, a U.S. appeals court said, reversing a lower court ruling. KBR is only entitled to immunity if it adhered to the terms of its contract with the government, something the district court failed to explore adequately, U.S. Circuit Judge Henry Floyd wrote in sending the case back for further proceedings.

There are a lot more like this one from 2010

Houston National Guard troops file suit over Camp Taji burn pits
Ill wind blows, some in Houston Guard unit believe
Baghdad burn pit operated by KBR said to cause migraines, breathing problems and rashes
By LINDSAY WISE and LISE OLSEN
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Feb. 1, 2010

CAMP TAJI, Iraq — One night in mid-January, a shift in the wind sent a sudden flurry of white flakes into a detainee internment facility guarded by soldiers from Houston’s 72nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

The Texas Army National Guard troops weren’t witnessing a rare Baghdad snowfall. The flakes drifting from the pitch-dark sky were ash and bits of charred trash belched from an open-air burn pit about 100 yards from the outer walls of the internment facility.

Operated by Houston-based contractor KBR, the pit consumes 120 tons of garbage a day here at Camp Taji, a U.S. military base north of Baghdad. On calm days, noxious smoke billows upward and dissipates into a smog-like haze. When the wind blows, the acrid-smelling fumes pour into towers and yards where about 800 Texas troops from the 72nd keep watch.

“It hovers over like a blanket,” said Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Ethier, 36, of Montgomery. “After it rains, you’ll get puddles of stuff. It’s like a yellowish, brackish color. It looks metallic. It’s just disgusting.”

Soldiers say a fine layer of soot settles on their uniforms and black goop comes out when they blow their noses. They complain of migraines, breathing problems, coughs, sore throats, irritated eyes and skin rashes.

The Texas Guard troops aren’t the first to report problems from exposure to burn pits at U.S. military bases across Iraq and Afghanistan.

Wyoming Soldier's House Helps Veterans Coming Home, Again

Infantryman Lance Williams, a 7-year Iraq War Veteran, sheds light on PTSD and the Soldier’s House of Wyoming
Country 10


(Lander, Wyo.) – Infantryman Lance Williams grew up in Lander with a big family. After graduating high school, he married his first wife and had four kids.

After 14 years of marriage they separated, and Lance felt like he was at a crossroads in his life. He knew he always wanted to join the military, so at the late military-age of 37, he joined the army.

Lance was first deployed in September 2007.

He spent 10 months in Tarmiyah, Iraq, just north of Bagdad. This first deployment was tough, and it really shook him up. Within the first week, he went through his first fire fight, and witnessed his good buddy get killed by an IED.

His second deployment was better, as he was in an area with minimal confrontation, and much of the time was spent training Iraqi Soldiers. He laughed and said it was sort of funny because, “the Iraqis just didn’t know how to train like the US Army.”

Prior to his first two deployments, he re-married and had a baby girl and baby boy. Lance describes the separation as being one of the toughest parts. “You just got used to being away for a long period of time,” Lance said. The camaraderie amongst the soldiers, feeling that you were part of something bigger than yourself and knowing there was a purpose for the work helped him get through the difficulties of war and being away from his family.

After one final deployment, Lance retired from the Army, having served for 7 years, 7 months, and 11 days between 2007-2014. But the memories and pain were still very present in his life.

After returning home, life was extremely difficult for him and his family. He had nightmares, blew up over simple things, yelled a lot, hated crowds and had unreasonable expectations for his family. His marriage was near its breaking point, until one day his wife Shawna told him: “Sometimes you get so mad and I just don’t know how to help you.”

It was in this moment that Lance knew he needed help. He went directly to the VA and picked up a pamphlet about the Soldier’s House. He thought on it for a bit, and after getting “the guts to call” he met with Charlie Wilson, co-founder of the Soldier’s House.
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The Soldier’s House of Fremont County seeks to support ALL Wyoming Veterans. It’s located at 1201 East Jackson in Riverton.

Soldiers and Families Warned to Be Careful Online

FBI issues alert about 'Middle-Eastern males' approaching military families in Colorado, Wyoming
KRDO News
Chris Loveless, Digital Content Director
Aug 05, 2015

FORT CARSON, Colo.
Fort Carson responded Wednesday to an alert the FBI sent to law enforcement about Middle-Eastern men approaching and questioning military families in northern Colorado and Wyoming.

The alert, which you can read here, says that in May of this year, the wife of a US military member was approached in front of her home in Greeley by two Middle-Eastern men. It says the men said she was the wife of a US interrogator, which she denied. It says the men laughed and then got into a dark-colored sedan with two other Middle-Eastern men inside. The alert says the woman had seen the car in the neighborhood before.

The report also says that several similar incidents have been reported in Wyoming. It says the men in those cases tried to obtain personal information about military members through intimidation and that some family members have reported feeling scared. The FBI declined to comment on the alert when contacted by KRDO NewsChannel 13.

Fort Carson released the following statement in response to media requests for information about the alert:

"We are not aware of any specific threats to Fort Carson Soldiers, Family members or civilians.

However, we take seriously the protection of our community and ask that individuals be extra vigilant for any signs of suspicious activities. Fort Carson does not discuss its specific security measures; however, Soldiers and their families are continually reminded through various means to always keep security in mind and be careful about what they talk about in public and online through email and social media sites. To report suspicious activity at Fort Carson, you can call the military police desk at 719-526-2333 or 911."
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Iraq Veteran Saved Kids From Burning Home

Casper Veteran Helps Kids Escape Burning House
KCWY
Tony Cedrone
07/23/2015

“There wasn’t really any time to think about what you’re going to do. There was just time to do something, so the most logical thing at that point was to just see if anybody was still inside the house. So, you just do that." -Chris Poe

Casper-- Wednesday, July 22, 2015 “There wasn’t really any time to think about what you’re going to do. There was just time to do something, so the most logical thing at that point was to just see if anybody was still inside the house. So, you just do that,” says Chris Poe, the man who took matters into his own hands when he saw the house in flames Saturday afternoon.

“It was all up the backside of the house. The flames were just loud, and of course hot.”

Poe was driving with his family just four blocks away when he saw smoke coming from the roof of the house; that’s when instincts told him to rush over there and immediately take action.

“I went up the front steps, went inside, checked upstairs to see if anybody was up there. It was pretty smokey, nobody was up there so I came downstairs,” says Poe.
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Vietnam Veteran Searching For Nurse From Casper Wyoming

Vietnam Veteran Searching for Nurse Who Helped Save His Life 50 Years Ago 
KULR 8 News
Penny Preston
Posted: Jun 26, 2015

A Vietnam Veteran is trying to find and thank the woman who helped save his life almost fifty years ago

CODY, WYOMING
A Vietnam veteran is trying to find and thank the woman who helped save his life almost fifty years ago. The problem is, he can't remember her face, or her name. He's hoping to get help from someone who may know her.

As he walks in front of the Vietnam Memorial in Cody, Wyoming, Larry Baker is looking for names of people he knew when he served in Vietnam in 1968. He recognizes a couple of names of Wyomingite's who died there, but he's also looking for someone else from the Cowboy State who survived the war – someone who helped save his life after he was injured by a bomb blast. He suffered numerous injuries, including a broken back and burned eyes. He was not expected to live.

"And they didn't know if I would be able to see or not and they wanted to prepare me for that." And so a nurse started taking the bandages off of my eyes, and she asked me where I was from and she said, 'Where are you from soldier?', and I said, 'Cody, Wyoming.' She said, 'Oh really. I'm from Casper, Wyoming.'"

Baker said he saw the nurse, but can't remember what she looked like. He can't remember anything about his service in Vietnam, because the blast also injured his brain.
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Supportive Services for Veteran Families

SW-WRAP Awarded $3.4M for Veteran Administration Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program
Sweetwater NOW
by News Desk
August 26, 2014

GREEN RIVER – SW-WRAP, receives $1.4M for the renewal of its Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) Program by the U.S. Veterans Administration which has covered 48% of Wyoming since October 2013.

SW-WRAP also has received a second award in the amount of $2M for the remainder of Wyoming and an expansion into areas of Nebraska and South Dakota.

SW-WRAP’s Founder and CEO, Cathie Hughes, has been active in procuring funding to assist vulnerable populations to become self-sustaining throughout Wyoming since 2007. During the past several years she has recognized the need, and been vigorously involved in, identifying solutions to address veteran homelessness in Wyoming. In 2010, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reported that 13 percent of impoverished individual Veterans become homeless at some point during the year.

In 2009, the American Community Survey estimated that 1,356,610 Veterans lived in poverty. Additional statistics have shown that 23% of Wyoming’s homeless population are veterans.

In March 2014 Hughes applied for the renewal of the current SSVF Program project, which she initially procured in October 2013, plus an additional SSVF Project. She received notice of the multiple awards in August. SW-WRAP is the only Wyoming entity to receive the award for 2014-2015.
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Wyoming Lawmaker Has PTSD Service Dog

Service dog comforts Wyoming lawmaker with PTSD
The Associated Press
BY LAURA HANCOCK
March 15, 2014

CASPER, Wyo. — Like many at the Wyoming Capitol, LeRoy got sick during week three of the four-week budget session.

Blame it on the 12-hour days, the stress of being away from home, or not enough play time. He came down with an eye infection, followed by an ear infection. It took a toll on his energy. LeRoy needed eye and ear drops.

"By Monday morning, he was back to his normal self, tail wagging," said his owner, Rep. Stephen Watt, R-Rock Springs.

LeRoy is an 80-pound liver brown bloodhound. He served in the 62nd Wyoming Legislature as a service dog to Watt, who suffers from anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

LeRoy, who will turn 3 in July, is believed to be the first service dog in the Legislature, although no one keeps historical records on such details. House Speaker Tom Lubnau, R-Gillette, gave Watt permission to have LeRoy in the House chamber and in committee meetings.

"It's the first time I've seen it in my 10 years, other than the bomb dogs that come through every morning," Lubnau said.

Watt was shot five times nearly 32 years ago while working as a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper. He got LeRoy almost a year ago.

"Rep. Watt is a true hero and has had some interesting and difficult burdens of life thrust upon him," Lubnau said. "Anything we can do to make his life easier, I'm glad to do."
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Air Force has "morale issues"

SECAF Has Picked Up on 'Morale Issues'
Associated Press
by James MacPherson
Jan 23, 2014

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. - The top civilian leader in the Air Force says she senses morale issues among airmen and officers in charge of the nation's nuclear force but remains confident in its mission.

Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James visited the three bases that care for the arsenal Tuesday and Wednesday.

Her trip was in response to cheating and drug scandals the Air Force announced last week as well as other missteps The Associated Press revealed last year.

James visited F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming Tuesday, Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana Tuesday and Wednesday and finished the fact-finding tour Wednesday at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota.

She met with 1,700 officers and airmen and later briefly answered questions.

James says she wishes the trouble didn't happen.

James has been on the job for a month. Last week, she said the Air Force is investigating 11 officers suspected of illegal drug possession. Three of the 11 are in nuclear missile units.
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This has been a deadly week for America’s military

UPDATE
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Release No: NR-033-14
January 16, 2014
DoD Identifies Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died Jan. 10, at Bagram Airfield, in Parwan Province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when the aircraft they were aboard crashed. The incident is under investigation.

Killed were:

Chief Warrant Officer Andrew L. McAdams, 27, of Cheyenne, Wyo., assigned to Detachment 53, Operational Support Airlift Command, Joint Force Headquarters, Wyoming Army National Guard, Cheyenne, Wyo.

Sgt. Drew M. Scobie, 25, of Kailua, Hawaii, assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery, Wahiawa, Hawaii Army National Guard, Oahu, Hawaii.

3 Americans dead as military plane crashes in Afghanistan
The Washington Times
By Cheryl K. Chumley
Friday, January 10, 2014

This has been a deadly week for America’s military.

Three Americans aboard a U.S. military MC-12 plane were killed Friday morning following a crash in the eastern portion of Afghanistan.

The cause of the crash is not yet known, but a defense officer told ABC News that investigators have ruled out enemy fire.

The New York Daily News reported the statement from a NATO spokesman: “Two International Security Assistance Force service members and one ISAF civilian died following an aircraft mishap in eastern Afghanistan today. It is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities.”
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Many Wyoming veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan go without care they've earned

Many Wyoming veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan go without care they've earned
The Trib.com
By CHRISTINE PETERSON and BENJAMIN STORROW
Star-Tribune staff writers
1 hour ago

The week before Halloween, Adrian Najera had a flashback. He opened the doors of Liesinger Hall, but instead of finding himself on the Casper College campus, he was back in Kunar Province.

Back picking through the rubble of a bombed-out building. Back searching for any bit of intelligence: A body to photograph, a finger to scan, anything that might prove a top-level target had been hit in an airstrike.

“That’s how it happens to me. One minute I’m there and then I take a step and it’s like, boom.”

He snapped his fingers.

“As soon as I stepped outside those doors it hit. There were bodies, man.”

The challenges Najera faces are not unique among the soldiers returning home from more than a decade of war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Many former soldiers are going without the care they are entitled to, veterans advocates say.

Nationally, only a third of veterans who fought in recent conflicts participate in U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs programs. The figure is similar in the Cowboy State, where approximately two-thirds of veterans are either seeking care on their own or going without.

Experts blame a range of possibilities for low enrollment, including a social stigma associated with seeking help or the general feeling that help is not needed. But the stakes of solving the enrollment quandary are high.
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